skelooth

This always happens when I'm being super serial about cutting. My strength starts coming down, and I wasn't strong to begin with. I feel like an enormous idiot at 230lbs and not being able to lift like it. For all intents and purpose.... should I try to eat more to compensate, or should I let it just happen?

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davtown

do whatever it takes to accomplish your goals.
if your goal is to be a super scary powerlifter, go for it.
if your goal is to get cut down and make old ladies faint with your front double bi pose, then do whatever you must to reach that goal.

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--Training Journal--

current/goal
D: 350/380
S: 280/300
B: 235/260

skelooth

good bye PRs

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davtown

There are people here who are experienced in cutting weight, so perhaps they will chime in and at least give you advice on how to maintain as much strength as possible. This is one department I can't help you in though...

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--Training Journal--

current/goal
D: 350/380
S: 280/300
B: 235/260

EME

Hey Skel,

The key is to focus on the goal of your training. If you want to be a powerlifter, then train for, and focus on strength.

If you want to be ( or at least look like ) a bodybuilder, the ultimate key is how you look, not how strong you are.

It's no doubt that there is a correlation between strength and power and muscle, but if you worry so much about being strong when preparing for a bodybuilding competition that you don't do what's necessary to achieve the look necessary, you will fail at achieving your bodybuilding goals.

It's also important that you not worry about how strong you look to other people. Remember that your goals are yours alone and the only person responsible for making sure you achieve them is you. Whatever your goals, it all starts and ends with you. The people who think good or bad about your strength or size aren't going to be there staring in the refrigerator with you at 2:00 AM in the morning when you are thinking about cheating on your diet. Only you can stand there and make that decision.

All the power and determination has to come from you. If you set your mind to getting ripped, you can do it.

- Michael

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madman911

You can't expect to make great strength gains while cutting down, but you should be able to maintain or minimize the strength loss. I look at it this way: your lifts become more impressive as you cut because you're doing them at a lighter weight. If you're 230 and benching 100 lb dbs it's respectable, but not all that impressive; if you cut down to 190 and can still bench the 100s or even if you drop to the 90s... your lifts become much more impresive and you'll actually look bigger too... at least with your shirt off.

If you're experiencing really significant strength loss while cutting, then you need to look at your diet... you may be going too low for too long with your carbs. I think refeeding every 4th day is better than a once per week refeed or having two refeed days in a row. If your not looking for rapid weight loss, I'd even refeed every 3rd day and make sure you refeed on the days that you work the bodypart that you consider your weakest and/or the one you lose strength on most notably.

You shouldn't view cutting as a process that makes you weaker, look at it as a process that improves your strength to size ratio.

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Ikaika

Michael that was a hell of a post man, very well put.

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No supplement can make up for the lack of a strong work ethic.

DJohnson

I think people just generally have less energy, glycogen, muscles aren't as well rested and their lifts drop a bit, not because of actual muscle loss, but just because of less kcal. Then they get all scared and stop cutting.

Just lift like your life depends on gaining strength, and stick with the diet. I'm sure you'll have your strength back within a month of bulking/maintaining again.

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Age: 21 Height: 5'10.5"
Mar, 2001: 135lbs @ ~14%
Nov, 2004: 245lbs @ ~40%
Feb, 2006: 188lbs @ 20.1% - Hydrostatic Tested
Dec, 2006: 168lbs @ 5.5% - 7 Point Caliper Tested
BULKING FOR A LONG TIME NOW
Long Term Goal: Over 200lbs @ 8%

skelooth

The ultimate answer is.... yes, I have to let my lifts go down. And yes, this is a big part of why I stop cutting most the time I'm just going to let it happen this time. There will be plenty of time later in life for bulking.

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MacTech

Great post EME.

While I like to lift heavy and set new PRs and make the young bucks in the gym say WTF is that old man doing, when cutting, this process changes.

I don't use setting new PRs or meeting existing ones as the ruler for measuring how close I am to my current goal : cutting fat.

I don't weigh myself when cutting either, as it can have the same negative feedback as reduced weights in my lifts. Stick to your diet and continue to lift as heavy as you can.

The mirror is the telling truth.

OT : skel are you eating some of that cake too ?

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Still going thru life one rep at a time.

My training journal.

skelooth

No, but doesn't that cake look delicious?

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Ikaika

I don't mind the cake looking good, its just really damned annoying to have to scroll down so much when you post several times on one page though.

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No supplement can make up for the lack of a strong work ethic.

skelooth

I'm trying to brainwash you into eating cake. Why? Because I'm evil. No other reason.

Perhaps I'll consider scaling it down

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JJ_Sungirl

If I may throw in my 2 cents: I wholeheartedly agree. Using the scale, for some people, is so detrimental. Anthropometric measurements, calipers, how your clothes fit and how you look in the mirror are much more encouraging and accurate measures of body composition. Good post, MacTech...*reps*

EzyRyder

I don't mean to sound nasty, but you seem to overanalyze alot.

skelooth

Being concerned that my lifts are dropping is over analyzing? Yeah okay. Good thing you are the master guru of the universe and never asked a question regarding weight lifting before. Tool.

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Peaked_18

Keep progressing in the gym, just not as much. Don't 'detrain' yourself.